Freedom Never Felt So Good(DISCONTINUED)
by illogicallydead
Summary: Rio spent the last 19 years in her parents' hell of a mansion. She wasn't allowed to go out, socialize with real people and study in a school (homeschooled). Wanting to prove herself, her parents send her off to a barren place called "Echo Town". Rio Woodridge has never been so... What was that word? Ah, yes. Rio has never been so "free".
1. Chapter 1

_Actions speak louder than words._

Yeah that's what they always say. But what do my parents do?

***flashback***

"But mom, I _can_ do this! If you'll just give me a cha—"

"No more chances, Rio. You've had enough."

"Enough? How can I have _enough_? You haven't even given me any!"

"How dare you speak to your mother like that? Is this how we raised you, Rio?"

"YES! I wouldn't be so much of a baby if you have actually let me prove myself to you. Mom, Dad, I'm 19 years old for glob's sake, and you wouldn't even let a single fly land on my skin! And you say that I've had enough chances? UGH!"

"Rio? RIO!"

I slammed my door shut.

***back to reality***

You see now? How can they be so oblivious? They think they raised a good child? Well they didn't do a great job at parenting, now, did they?

All my life I've been locked up in the house for FREAKING SAFETY REASONS!

DO THEY HONESTLY THINK IT'S _SAFE _TO ISOLATE A CHILD IN A MANSION?!

Breathing heavily as tears rolled down my cheeks furiously, I screamed as loud as I can into my pillow.

I've had enough of their bull poop.

I don't hate them, but I also can't say I _love_ them.

Okay, fine. Let's just face the fact that I've always held a grudge to my parents. When I was 6, I asked Mom why can't I go outside and play with other children. You know what she said?

"No, honey, you might get germs from them."

Now seriously…. GERMS?! Scientifically speaking, even if we like it or not, we've all got germs in our bodies. She's really taking the "Safety Reasons" thing way too far.

And when I was 13, I asked Dad why I never went to public schools or even a private school to study stuff and why I was always hooked up with homeschool teachers. Y'know what he said?

"Because kids in school are distracted by the other kids and never really focused on their studies."

Then why in the world would there be a valedictorian? A cum laude? They were in school with a lot of other kids, yet they were there the highest of honor.

When I was 15, I asked them if I could have a phone. I guess you would already know what they said….

"NO! Rio, you are too young for phones and phones can cause severe brain damage! No parent would want a child whose brain is damaged…."

Yep. If I could write a sign over their foreheads I'd write : "Caution: Too much contact with these human beings could damage your brain and hurt your feelings." It was just too much.

I kept on crying and crying to the point that I realized that there was no point in crying. What will it bring you? Thrice the pain you already have, that's what.

I took the pillow off of my face and wiped my wet and sore eyes from tears with the sleeve of my blouse. It took me a good 2 minutes to actually stop crying and moaning, when a knock came from my white wooden door. I stood up and made my way to the mirror to see if there were any traces of tears and emotions in my face. _Nothing,_ I confirmed. I finally walked to the door and opened it just to see my two parents standing right in front of me.

_Great. Now what? _

So, considering the two options I have which are:

1\. Turn away and slam the door

2\. Conceal, don't feel don't let them know

Crossing out option numero uno, I'm obviously left out with only option number two. I would love to slam the door right then and there but I'd rather not face the consequences of doing so. So I did my best to be polite as possible but horribly failed at it because instead of saying "may I help you?", only a grunt came out of my mouth.

My mother miraculously ignored my impolite greeting and held me to her chest. She freaking hugged me. Is this…. How a _"hug"_ feels like? Wow…. I never thought it would feel so warm and comforting.

I've never had one in years. But that still hasn't changed the way I looked at my Mom.

She pulled away with tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. I gave her a blank stare.

She finally spoke up and said "Rio, honey, you were right. We should've just let you be your own woman, living life and all…. But it's just that…. I—_we _wanted to protect you."

Am I really hearing this?

My father laid his right hand on my shoulder and I almost cringed at the gesture but thank God I didn't.

He spoke up and said "Yes. Your mother and I have been talking about…. Letting you go."

_REALLY?! Yesyesyesyesyesyes finally I can get out of this hell of a house._

My dad removed his hand from my shoulder and directed me to come with him to his office.

He sat on his desk and I sat on one of the chairs that were across the table and so did my mother. I looked around the room with wandering eyes because I've never been to this part of the freakishly huge mansion before. Whenever I tried to sneak in when I was little, it was always locked and there was a sign that said "Mr. Woodridge's Office. OFF LIMITS."

I snapped out of my amazement in the never-before-seen room when my dad slapped a piece—no, pieces of paperwork into his desk. I looked at them with hopeful eyes as if they were my key to freedom because I don't want to stay longer in this house longer than I should. It took him 10 seconds and a heavy sigh before actually opening his mouth to say something.

"Rio, these papers you see here are the documents about our family's properties around the world, and I found one that is perfect for you." My Dad started. I looked at him with expectant eyes. He started rummaging through the papers and grabbed a piece and handed it to me. I studied it intently.

After a few minutes of studying the piece, I finally spoke.

"Th-this is a farm. And it's…." I stuttered with mixed emotions of shock, happiness, joy, and a pinch of _freedom._ "It's perfect." I whispered in awe.

Have I already told you that I've always been fascinated about farms? Although I only see some in pictures, but how difficult could it be? And I know that's going to be a lot of work and judging by the date written on the piece of paper that's in my hand, the last owner of the farm in "Echo Village" was my grandfather. I've always loved my grandfather's stories about the farm and how life is out in the open and often argued with my Dad about not letting me go to experience the "real life". But going back, since the last owner of it was my granddad, I assumed that the farm is not really in a good state. In other words, it's been _neglected_.

But out of nowhere, I suddenly have the urge to bring the farm back to life. And miraculously enough, I've got a newfound respect for my parents. It all feels…. _Good. _

"Well, Rio? What do you think? "My Mom asked.

"I think I'm going for a trip of a lifetime." I answered. I want to go to this place, _soon._ Both of my parents nodded and Dad said that I should pack up all my necessities and prepare myself as he takes care of the documents. My Mother told me to go and follow her to talk about some things that needed to be cleared up.

We sat down on a couch and guess what she did?

She apologized to me. She apologized about their mistakes and how they've treated me for all of those years and explained her—_their _reasons for being so ridiculously overprotective.

"Rio…. I think it's about time you know about my 'condition'." My Mom began. I looked down.

"You see, I have a disease called _Eclampsia_. It's when a woman can only give birth to one child with a possibility of the baby having complications. And when she gets pregnant again, the second baby will live but the mother will die.

"We were trying and trying for several years and yet nothing came, until that very faithful moment when I was confirmed positive about being pregnant with you. So putting everything up in a nutshell, you're a very special kid, Rio." She said it with so much emotion that I'm starting to think if she was serious or nah. But it still didn't answer my question why I had to be locked in for the past years.

I gathered up all the confidence left in me and asked my Mom, "But _why_ must you keep me inside this mansion for all those years?"

"Because we love you." her answer was fast. _Love? Never felt it._

Yet, that didn't satisfy me. I needed more than just that. Something more elaborate, maybe? But that day wasn't today. I wasn't getting all the answers to my questions so I just shrugged the issue off. _For_ _now_.

I let her slip and just said "Okay" dumbly.

Moving on, I stood up and asked my Mom's permission to go to my room and pack up. She said yes then I moved along.

Long story short I packed all of my casual and simple clothes (like big t-shirts, sweatpants, jeans, etc.) and brought along with me my overalls and boots. Even if I only see farms and farmers in pictures, I know how they dress. Or at least I do.

To make the long story shorter, I went off the very next day to "Echo Village."

As I sat on the bus, I made a decision to renew myself. To show who I really am, and accept the fact that this is all going to be hard work that's going to pay off in the future.

I wanted a new beginning.

A new beginning as a new person, no longer the Rio who's been isolated in a mansion for 19 years.

* * *

The bus ride took almost 10 hours.

I woke up from my sleep with the driver calling out for his passengers to get down. I straightened up and picked up my luggage and went down the bus.

As I set foot on the territory of "Echo Village", I felt something I've never felt before.

_Is this what you call…. "freedom"? _

Freedom, huh? Well it tasted great.

That is, until this man who was sprawled on the ground came across my field of vision who looked about to be around his 50's. He had a funny styled mustache curling upwards which I thought was creative enough. I ran to him and knelt down then poked him with my index finger. Almost immediately, he opened his eyes and said "Rio Woodridge! It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dunhill, the mayor of Echo Town. I have received a letter from your parents saying that you were coming here to 'prove yourself' to them. Well, fear no more because old man Dunhill here will help you!" And he stood up to take both of my hands and shake them with eagerness. I shook back feeling eager of more human contact too.

_Oh, so this was a town? Not to be offensive, but it doesn't look like one. Really, it looked more like a ghost town. _

Anyway, he lead me to Echo Town to introduce me to the people there. As we walked, he told me about how my parents and he were friends way back and how the history of this barren town goes. He said that there were a lot of people here back then, and how my grandfather has done a great job at producing crops. Until that one day, my granddad passed away. The town had no more source of income and food was scarce.

He introduced me to two people.

One was an elderly woman with a wide-brimmed hat and a cane. Her name was Hana, and she runs the general store. The other was a woman, too, who looks about in her early 40's. her name is Emma and she's the one who ships stuff.

"Are there others?" I suddenly asked. Is it just me or this town is dreadfully _underpopulated_?

"Well, actually, yes. There is one more resident his name is Neil. He's not yet here today but should be back the day after tomorrow. He's around your age so I hope you two get along well." Dunhill answered.

Around my age? _Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes! _I **finally** get to actually interact with someone around my age!

My heart skipped with joy at the thought of socializing but I was suddenly cut off with another thought coming in.

_What if he doesn't like me? What'll I do? Isolate myself again? No! I've had enough of that. _

Actually, my subconscious is right.

I was interrupted with Dunhill saying some things but I couldn't make them out because I was dazed with the thought of this "Neil" guy.

Anyway, I waved goodbye to Hana and Emma as Dunhill lead me to the land where my grandfather once stepped on. I looked around the place and somehow, it made my heart ache. _How can something that used to be so full of life be deprived of it? _

"Y'know, your old man's old man was really a great guy. Heh, even I am amazed everytime I see him water his crops or take care of his animals. He's got passion for everything he does." Dunhill lamented.

I smiled at his words.

He patted my shoulder and said "Well Rio, I'll leave you to it now, aye? Explore the whole place and make yourself at home." Then walked away.

I studied the farmland and crouched down to pick up some soil. At my amazement, I thought to myself, "_Unbelievable, this land is so fertile! After all these years…._" yep, I'm officially determined to bring this barren land back to life!

I went to the stable, the barn, and the chicken coop. they all still seemed usable and no need for repairing. After that, I went to the house. The place is a mess, and everything else was…. Well, a mess.

I went to the bed and sat down then set my luggage into the floor. The bed seemed clean and comfortable so without hesitation, I laid my body down and made myself comfy.

_Finally, I can actually do my actions and prove my words to my parents. Moreover, I can prove myself to them. _

I grinned at the thought and dozed off to sleep.

* * *

**Hi! I'm back with another NeilxRio fanfic. I just wanted to say that this is kind of a prologue-ish kind of chapter, but yeah you get the point. thanks for reading and leave a review! kind criticism is accepted. lemme know what you guys think. :3**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HARVEST MOON. **


	2. Chapter 2

"_But what if she can't handle it?" _

"_She can, Martha. She does have a point and she deserves a chance. Just…. Let her be independent."_

_Martha was sobbing and started mumbling the words "My baby" over and over again with her hands covering her face as Marlon wrapped his arms around her in attempt of comforting his wife. _

* * *

I woke up to the sound of repetitive knocks on the wooden door. "Ugh, who could _possibly _be up this early in the morning?" I mumbled to myself in annoyance.

Not that I'm not used to waking up early. Back when I was in the city, I woke up earlier than our house helpers did. I woke up earlier than _anyone_ did. Around 4:00 am, maybe? I do that because that's the only time when I can actually sneak out of the house. _Somehow. _ It's the only time of the day when everyone in the house is asleep.

I groggily sat up and rubbed my eyes. The small wooden house is actually beautiful once sunlight shone inside of it. Despite the mess, everything in it was beautiful, kind of like a vintage home. I stood up and looked around for a mirror, and luckily I spotted one. It was located near the entrance of the door so I went there to brush out any tangles that there might be in my blonde hair and straightened out my clothes from the day before. With a big yawn, I opened the door to see the culprit.

Surprise, surprise. It was a cow.

_So…. the cow knows how to knock? Or maybe it was just lost and kept nudging at the door… hmm… maybe either of the two?_

I stuck my hand out and patted the head of the cow. It seemed fine and kind, though. I stepped out of the house to look around if there was anyone responsible for the cow. As far as I could tell, there was this guy who has blonde hair and…. Are those _red _eyes? I narrowed my eyes to confirm my suspicions.

Yep, those eyes are red as rubies.

He had this red coat that matches the color of his eyes and a black undershirt, as well as camo pants and combat boots. What is he, a rockstar? I inwardly sighed and looked away. _Don't know, don't care._

I thought to myself. And not to mention though, he looked like he was around my age….

_Neil….! Wait, isn't he supposed to be back until tomorrow? Meh, don't care._

Neil… his name kept ringing in on my head like crazy. If anything, I shouldn't be too thrilled about him. I mean, I just met the guy and I don't know how he is. Is he aggressive? Or maybe even think that I am weird? I should've pondered more about the fantasies I was having about making a real friend the other day…..

Anyway, it's not like I like him or anything. Just reconsidering the options I have.

Regaining my senses, I straightened up and greeted him with a shy "hi" while looking down. Conversing with humans is really hard. He examined me from head to toe while pulling the cow's leash closer to him and I suddenly felt shivers run through my whole body.

"You must be the new farmer, aren't you?" he questioned with a gruff voice and I couldn't do anything but stand rooted to the ground and nod fast with the slight hope of ending this conversation immediately. I don't know why, though. Neil just seemed…. _Cold._ Like the kind of person you wouldn't want to talk to. But hey, maybe I could give it a shot. Just maybe.

"The name's Neil. I'm the animal dealer here and I run a stall at the plaza from Mondays to Thursdays. Drop by if you need anything. Oh, and this cow? It's a present from Dunhill. Don't get the wrong idea, okay?" he introduced himself then looked at me waiting for an answer.

"Oh, um…. My name's Rio. Nice to meet you." I replied while sticking out my hand for a, you know, a handshake. But all Neil did was lead the cow into the barn completely ignoring my friendly gesture.

Well one thing's for sure: Neil's not one for handshakes.

Shrugging off his rudeness, I followed him to the barn to see him petting the cow and the creature mooed with delight. Noticing my presence, he stood up and came to me to hand me a brush, a pitchfork, and a weird thing I have no idea of.

I held the unknown tool high enough for him to recognize and asked what it was supposed to be. He gave me a very disappointed look and told me that "it's a milker. You know? To suck the milk out of the cow everyday."

Alrighty then.

Still not completely absorbing the information, he snatched the milker from me and told me to come with him. He knelt down and showed me the process of doing it. After that, he also explained some do's and don'ts on raising farm animals. I think I can cope with that.

After his mini lecture about taking care of animals and such, we went out the barn.

He started to walk away and for some insane reason I called out, "wait!"

I mentally slapped myself. _Ugh, what was I doing?_ Either way, what's happening…. Is happening.

"Thanks," I said. "for the knowledge and stuff."

He looked back and said "No problem." And with that, he left.

Huh, that wasn't bad after all. He's just really…. the way he is. He's cold towards people but warm towards animals. He's really rude at talking to people but has the voice of an angel when he converses with animals. It's like his world revolves around animals. Or does it?

I just wanted to be his friend. Someone he could talk to or maybe even tell his secrets to. Someone he could be who he really is without all the grimacing and scowling.

_DAMMIT RIO WHAT'RE YOU THINKING?!_

I closed my eyes to think for a moment, but instead of thinking, Neil's face just appeared in every corner of my head. "NO!" I shouted at no one in particular. Opening my eyes, I ran to the dock near my farm and sat down. Maybe… maybe I just need some time to adjust and stop fantasizing about him. Yes, yes that sounds cool.

I sat like that for a few moments and then stood up just to walk to the fields where scrap wood, rocks, stones and tree stumps were everywhere.

Yep, this is going to be a lot of hard work. Maybe I could pull out some weeds and dispose of branches and stones then till the land for farming _or _be the lazy bum I am and procrastinate.

Well, this farm ain't preparing itself for planting, so I trashed the idea of procrastinating and just went to clear up some space enough for burying some seeds into the ground. After that, I went to the barn to see how the cow's doing.

I went to her and patted her head. She mooed with happiness and nuzzled the palm of my hand. I was enjoying the cow's company but then this thought came to me.

What was I going to call this cow?

"Hey there, girl. What do you want me to call ya?" I asked the cow. It's not like it's going to answer, but hey, I tried. Even though I wasn't expecting for an answer, the cow mooed.

Then out of nowhere, I heard someone call out my name.

Suddenly alert, I ran out the barn to see who was calling me. By the time I got out, I already saw Neil standing at the front of my house, panting. I jogged towards him.

"H-hey," he started. He was obviously tired so I offered him to get inside and have a drink but he refused.

"I was just going to—GAH!"

I said nothing. "Just let me catch my breath for a moment?"

I nodded.

After he was done, he finally continued what he was about to say.

"Look, I'm just back here to ask you what would you like to call the cow I—Dunhill just gave to you."

Oh, that's a good thing he remembered. A few minutes ago I was just in worrying about what I was going to name her.

"Mirabelle." I answered in response.

"Okay," he said. "Sorry for interrupting whatever you were doing, it's just that I completely forgot about letting you pick a name for your cow."

"It's alright." I replied while smiling at him.

The instant I smiled at him he immediately looked away in embarrassment. What a weirdo. A cute one.

_STOP IT RIO! _

I also jerked my head back with my face heating up and I'm pretty sure that there's a really disturbing awkwardness between us. "Well, I should probably go." Neil finally said.

"O-okay. See you around?" I stuttered slowly turning my head towards his direction.

"Yeah." Was all he said.

When he left, the sky was already turning dark and I haven't even got some seeds for spring from the general store yet… I hung my head in disappointment and went back into my house.

The house is really long overdue of cleaning, and if I'm going to stay here for the rest of my life (hopefully), I'd have to fix this place up. I yawned loudly and went to my bed. Maybe the whole "fixing this place up" thing will have to wait until tomorrow. As exhausted as I was, I didn't care about not having dinner and just rummaged through my luggage in attempt to find decent clothes. I ended up grabbing a big white shirt and some shorts so I took off my farm clothes and put on the shirt and shorts.

Laying my whole body down and not caring about what's gonna happen tomorrow, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**AYE! Well that's another chapter done (and i noticed that i always end my chapters with Rio sleeping .-.) **

**anyway, thanks for the nice review CrimsonCrush! it makes me feel inspired to write more, too. :3 **

**oh and the part where Neil forgot to make Rio name the cow... I myself forgot that. to make the story still presentable and not have me ruin it, I had to put the blame on Neil (sorry). I thought something was missing and apparently the root of my worries was just the teensy part of the game where you'd have to name your animal. Wow. **

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AYE! Sorry for the long wait... but anyway! here's chapter three! hope you like it :D**

* * *

These past few days have been a pain in the, uh_, everything._

I invested what's left on my budget on a bunch of turnips to start off and took care of Mirabelle every single day in order for her to produce good milk. And as if farming's not hard enough, Dunhill gave me a crap ton of responsibilities about reviving this old, barren and _almost_ neglected town of theirs. Well, _ours_ because I live here now, too.

To make long story short, Dunhill basically asked me to _actually_ build stuff. You know, like houses, establishments and such. And building an architect's studio is what's first on the list.

"A-are you really sure? I mean—"

"Yes! I'm really sure and I'm expectin' a lot from you. Come on, Rio. You and I, along with the villagers, know that you can do it!" Dunhill cut me off.

"Alright… I guess I could do it." Man, Dunhill is by far the most persistent person I've ever met. Well, at least he still cares for this town and what's left of it. So why not give it a shot?

Iroha, the new blacksmith in town who occupied the only house that was currently not owned by anyone, helped with foraging and making stuff into workable materials. She's pretty nice, too. Along with all the other villagers (except for Hana), pretty much gave an eager helping hand to me. And I appreciated it because it was never easy having heavy responsibilities.

Over time, the studio was finished and two people lived there. Their names are Rebecca and Toni. Rebecca is a veteran architect and I pretty much get ALL of my blueprints from her, Toni is a nice kid who is really hyper… well, it's good to see that there's children in here(_Child_, for now).

A beauty salon was also built and there's this hairdresser named Allen who's a really cocky guy, if you'd ask me. He's very egoistic and really meticulous about other people's hairstyle. But despite all that, he's a pretty nice person and cares a lot about people. Yes, _people_. Not their hair or anything.

Also, there's a newspaper carrier in town and is run by a girl named Tina. She's very bubbly, nice, and she'd also make a good companion. Although when you tell her secrets (especially the juicy ones), you can never trust her. She'll have them printed in the newspaper in a day!

To be honest, it makes me really happy to see this town come back to life again. Even if it was all out of my pocket, it still paid off in a way that it puts a smile to my face.

And I could have sworn I saw the grumpy animal dealer smile for the first time in forever.

As I was walking down to the plaza, instead of seeing one stall, I saw two of them_. What? Two stalls? I thought there was only one…_

That's when I remembered that I've actually built a cottage and the person who stayed there was a guy named Rod. Well, he's also nice, I guess. He's very friendly and gleeful all the time.

And he runs the second stall standing right next to Neil's.

Oh, so that's why. _I seem very forgetful today…_

Anyway, it's also really good to see Neil smile. All these time he didn't do anything else but scowl and grimace at every person he encounters. Even his customers!

As I walked towards them, Neil and Rod were talking about something… and it's about animals. All. About. Animals.

Well, it's really obvious that they'd be great friends. Neil sells livestock and Rod sells pets.

I finally reached them and I sheepishly greeted them with a "Hi".

They both turned and Rod perked up then got out of his place to grab my hands and shake them eagerly.

"Hi! I'm Rod—oh wait, no. you already know that. Um.. yeah! I run the stall next to Neil's—NO! Oh jeez, what am I saying…" said the redhead with goggles on his head. I giggled lightly at his childish nature.

"Hehe, yeah." I said while still smiling. Rod rubbed the back of his head and I saw him blush a light shade of pink.

Neil rolled his eyes at both of us and scoffed. I walked away from the pet seller slowly and he walked back to his stall.

"Tch. Go make out somewhere, not here. Oh and you…" he glared at me.

"If you're just going to loiter around, then _leave._" Neil ordered harshly.

I was at a loss for words. I never knew he would be _this _difficult. I mean, he got mad all because Rod and I tried to make friends with each other. And I was going to buy a chicken… A FRICK FRACKING CHICKEN FROM THAT INSENSITIVE, DENSE AND RUDE ANIMAL DEALER!

"I-I…" I stuttered nervously. I felt like if I won't leave soon, I'll get caught up in a fight with a scoffing, scowling, grimacing, hating and human-despising creature with red eyes and blonde hair. And I regretted having the _slightest _crush on him the first time I saw him.

"What?" Neil raised an eyebrow at me and Rod came to him and said something like "hey, don't be so rude…"

He ignored Rod and continued to stare at me, waiting for a response.

By some kind of miracle, I managed to choke out the words, "I… I'm going home now…"

As soon as those sets of letters came out of my mouth, I quickly turned and ran towards the farm as I feel the heat in my whole face and tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes.

There was only one question that kept on ringing in my head.

"_What did I ever do to him to treat me like this?"_

* * *

**_(some random narrator)_**

"Neil, buddy… what's up with you today? Why did you treat the girl like that?" Rod inquired while slowly putting his hand on Neil's back.

The animal dealer almost flinched at this friendly gesture but gave in anyway.

He looked away, and said "because she's too nice."

Rod giggled lightly and replied with "really? You got mad just because she was being nice?"

"No." Neil countered, obviously annoyed.

"Then what?"

"NOTHING!"

Rod looked at him curiously and insisted Neil to tell him what's wrong with the farmer girl being nice.

Neil gave an exasperated sigh and said "look, she's annoying, okay? She keeps on coming here for no damn reason and just… ugh! She's just plain annoying, alright?!"

The pet seller backed out a little putting his hands up to the level of his chest. "woah, bro. didn't mean to upset you or anything…."

Then he gave Neil the puppy dog eyes. For some reason, Neil has a weakness for these kinds of cute things. So of course, he couldn't resist but soften his expression a little and close the topic up.

"Okay… should we close up now? I know it's a bit early, but—"

"Yeah! That sounds cool. Hey, wanna go have dinner at my place?" Rod cut him off with an offer he can't refuse. First, Neil wasn't really in the mood of making dinner for himself. Second, he thought company would be great. After slightly feeling guilty about the way he acted towards Rio, he felt the need of apologizing to her.

But no. he despised her. Every inch of her, everything about her. He just plainly hated her, that's all.

But she's still human. Nobody's perfect, aye?

* * *

**HAHA HI THERE**

**sorry, i know this chapter's really short (and a filler chapter, too). and yes, i did not want to go through writing all about how rio restored the town and whatnot. so i just made it all quick! :D **

**i'm going to take this more seriously, though. y'know, with more neil x rio fluff...**

**BUT THEYRE NOT GONNA GET THERE EASILY HAHA**

**hmm... and i assume this fanfic shall be... a ten-shot. in that case, seven chapters to go! **

**bai nao~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Narrator's POV**

6:00 pm

Just as Neil was out of the shower, the giggly and hyperactive pet seller barged into his house with a pan and a spatula then banged the two utensils together as he shouted "DINNER TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!"

The surprised animal dealer had nothing else on but a towel around his waist. Weirdly enough, Rod kept on clanging the spatula on the pan while looking straight into Neil's eyes. Embarrassment wrapped around the entire being of Neil as he tried to keep his cool.

Unfortunately, Neil isn't the type of guy who can control his temper.

"ROD!" exclaimed the infuriated animal trader. At this time, Rod finally stopped and stood there in complete silence.

The two animal enthusiasts stared at each other for a couple of seconds when Rod broke into laughter.

"Pfft.. HAHA! Neil, buddy, seriously?! You're going out in _that?_" was what Rod managed to say in-between laughs.

"Maybe that's because you should stop busting into someone else's house without knocking!" Neil said in rebuttal. "That's why _doors_ are made, idiot." He continued while glaring at him.

Again, they stood there for a moment.

"Jeez, why do awkward silences have to happen all th—"

"Well maybe you should lock your door!" Rod interrupted. "That's why _locks _are made, idiot."

As he continued his statement, the pet seller raised both his arms in triumph while keeping a serious look on his face.

"Really? It took you an awkward silence just to counter my opinion?" Neil asked with annoyance audible in his voice.

"Well, yeah. If that's what it takes to make a grumpy animal dealer change into his clothes." Rod replied quietly. Then he started giggling again. "Man, if Rio ever saw you in that I don't even know if you'd survive a millisecond with her… HAH!" with that, he started laughing loudly again.

Neil didn't even bother to glance in Rod's direction because that would make him lose time.

And the past minute was something he'd never get back.

Completely ignoring the intruder, he changed into his usual clothes. Y'know, the punk rocker get-up.

Just as he was finished, he walked out the door and stood there as he waited for Rod to stop his hysterical laughter. Wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, Rod finally followed Neil and shut the door behind him.

Oh how thankful Neil was when the pet seller finally came to his senses.

They walked along in silence. Or at least _Neil_ was. He was pretty sure Rod was still blabbering about something, not that he'd mind. He continued being quiet and the next thing he knows, they're already in front of Rod's cottage.

Rod ran up to his door and opened it to welcome his guest.

"Aye! Let's get inside now, shall we?" Rod invited and the grumpy animal dealer obliged.

* * *

**Rio's POV**

6:00 pm

And I'm still crying my eyeballs out for that no-good jerk.

_Well… maybe it's just because he's going through stuff too… _

True, true. All of us have our own battles but…

Can't he be nicer?

I mean, I just came here two weeks ago and he's treating me like trash.

Really, if I were in the mood to fight him today I would. I'd be straight to the point with him and knock him out.

But I don't wanna.

Besides… it's 6 pm. I'd better get some rest too and forget all about it. _Lying to yourself won't help you. you say it's all over when it's not. Face it Rio, you're just a coward._

I ignore whatever voice I was hearing and just dove into my bed and closed my eyes. I didn't need more nagging from an unknown voice.

_Well… Neil does look cute when he's mad… but not when it's towards me. Huh…_

And there goes all of my hopes for making a friend out of him.

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

The two boys sat across each other in Rod's circular dining table.

Neil was silently picking at his meal Rod made. The pet seller, on the other hand, was saying something gushy about Rio. Since Neil didn't really care for the blonde farmer, all of Rod's words were gobbled up noise in his ears.

_Shut up, shut up, shut up…._ Neil thought.

Just as the animal dealer was finished and Rod was still blabbering, Neil stood up and took his plate to Rod's sink. It's the least possible way he could be polite to someone who provided dinner for him.

Rod noticed this, and he followed Neil as well.

"Hey, were you listening a while ago?" Rod asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Neil just stared at him with his signature scowl. When a few seconds passed, Rod finally raised an eyebrow and said "Hellooooo? Neil, you alive?" while waving his hand at Neil's face.

Annoyed, Neil just walked away and sadness loomed over Rod's whole being.

"um.. hey, buddy. I was just trying to tell you something about Rio—"

"Rio here, Rio there. Could you _please_ just stop talking about her for a moment? For Goddess' sake, Rod!" Neil exclaimed while throwing both his hands up in the air.

Rod's eyes widened with confusion and surprise at his friend's sudden burst out. _If men had their period, Neil would be the perfect example of a guy having PMS_, Rod thought.

Guilt washed over Neil because of his actions. He sat down on the chair that was beside him and rested his head on his hand.

Rod grabbed another chair and sat beside Neil.

The pet seller took a deep breath before saying, "Look, Neil. I know you hate and despise Rio somehow but—"

"I hate her. A lot." Neil snapped at him.

"O-okay… but listen. Rio just told me something she's never told ANYONE before!" Rod continued with growing excitement. Neil just looked at him with uninterested eyes.

Rod was fighting laughter back off when Neil finally said "okay, what'd she tell you?"

"Pfft…. She told me her BIRTHDAY!" Rod said.

"Really? She told you her birthday and you're going all jittery just because of it?"

Rod scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Y-yeah… I mean, _I'm_ the first one who knew her birthday."

"Oh, so her own parents didn't know when she was born?" Neil countered and this time, it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Tch, NO?!"

"Then what?"

" I'm the first person her age who knew her birthday! It's a new record!" Rod said with squeaky voice and a really wide grin. "Y'know, someone who could be actually her friend. She _did _say that she hasn't really had any real relationships with any other people because of certain reasons she wouldn't tell me, but hey at least she's trying to open up. Somehow."

"Yeah right."

This time, Rod was finally annoyed as well.

"Hey! don't you 'yeah right' me! I was only trying to be a good person…."

"Well you're trying too hard."

Rod's face went glum and looked away and Neil did the same as well. The animal trader's words were really harsh.

"You know what," Rod finally started as he stood up and dragged the chair back where it belongs. "You should just go. Out of my house, I mean."

Neil didn't nod or talk or anything, he just stood up and walked out and shut the door.

_How polite…._ Rod thought while shaking his head.

As grumpy and unbearable Neil was, Rod did his best to understand the reasons behind his friend's unruly attitude. Sure, Rod is mad and probably pissed off by everything the animal dealer just said about Rio, but he _knew_ he was the only person Neil could really confide to. He didn't want to hurt Neil anymore than he already was.

And with all that thought thoroughly, Rod got ready for bed and slept.

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

Neil went to his home and without even taking off his boots or anything, just simply plopped down on his bed.

He let out a frustrated grunt.

Neil was deep in thought that night. He thought about his actions earlier tonight and his reactions about Rio. As much as he wouldn't admit it, all he really wanted was a friend. Only his cold personality was in the way of making a true friend. It was kind of like a mountain…

But Rod managed to cross that mountain. He managed to get through his hard exterior, into Neil's true self.

Sometimes, of course, misunderstandings happen between friends. Like what happened a while ago.

Pondering about it deeper, he finally reached a decision.

He'll apologize to Rod.

Rio? Nah, never would he ever do that. _Or will he?_

Shrugging the thought about making amends with Rio, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

***stretches***

**Phew! This one took a while to write... I just didn't really feel like sitting in the computer for 3 straight hours pouring my imagination out on a single chapter. But I PROMISE that I'll take this seriously from now on... SERIOUSLY! xD **

**R&amp;R? :3 thanks for reading anyway! ((psst... 6 more chaps to go! :D))**

**thanks for the nice review! **


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**GUISE **

**i am so SO SORRY! I'm going to be putting this fanfic on hiatus due to lack of ideas and feedback. Stuff's getting too hot to handle so what do I do? Drop it. **

***tech-y dubstep in the background for drama***

**nah but for realseez. **

**Apparently I fell out of love with HM:ANB and had no inspiration. I felt like this story isn't going anywhere without any "love" for it, if you may. But I will still be active here on , just not writing anymore Harvest Moon related stuff. **

**I did get back with the old fandom I was in, though.**

**Ever heard of the webcomic Homestuck? heck yeah.**

**Recently, about two days ago, I was really really bored and had nothing to do. Not even write for the fifth chapter of this story. So I looked up for "ms paint adventures" and started all over again from the beginning of the 3000 plus something page of a crazy webcomic. **

**And huzzah, 3rnut found something to do. **

**So yeah... All that said, I'll be dropping this story for now. I may pick it up 5 years later or so. I don't even know.**

**bye. **


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